Self-adjusting rotary bit.



G. E.' PRED'ERIGKSDN. SELF ADJUS'TING ROTARY BIT. Y APVPLICATON FILED 00T. 10| 1810.

- Pateg-,ea mea 13,1911.

2 SHEETS-43mm' z. 'Y

VUNITED STATES PATENT CFFICE.

CLAYTON E. FBEDERICKSON, OF COALINGA, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOB 0F ONE-FOURTH T0 HOLMES H. HENSHAW, OF COALINGA, CALIFORNIA.

SELF-Amusfrme ROTARY BIT.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 13, 1911.

Application led October 10, 1910. Serial No. 586,337.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLAYTON E. FREDER- ionsoN, residin at Coalinga, in the county of Fresno and tate of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Self-Adjusting Rotary Bits, of which the following is a specification.

In the art of well drilling as usually practiced at the present time, the well drilling bit or cutter is secured to the lower end of a rotatable pipe that is fed into the well and through which water, compressed air or other fluid is forced to wash or blow out the cuttings. When the bits become worn the entire tubing or rotary pipe must be removed from the well before the bits can be reached for repairs or sharpened.

' My invention therefore has for oneof its objects to provide an improved bit that may be lowered through the rotatable pipe and will automatically adjust itself into position at the lower end of the drilling mechanism and which may be readily removed for sharpening or repairs without disturbing the position of the rotatable pipe in the well.

Generically, the invention includes a cutter shoe or sleeve that is secured to the lower end ofthe rotary pipe or casing that is provided with bit receiving slots and a special passage for guidingl the vbits tothe slots, a bit carrying and locking frame on which the bit holder is mounted and by means of which the bits, when in place, are forced radially downward into the shoe slots to assume their cutting position, and by means of which the bits are locked in such position.

In its more detailed, nature the invention also resides in those novel features of construction,

combination and-'arrangement of parts, all of which will be first fully described, then be specifically pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1, is a central section and part side elevation of a rotary drill casing or tubing of a well with my invention applied, the bits being in their cutting position, the sectionbeing taken on line 1--1 on Fig. 6. Fig.

i 2, is a similar view on the line 9.-2 on Fig.

t3, the bits boing shown as withdrawn from the shoe and in elevation. Fig. 3, is-an enlarged central vertical longitudinal se@ tion Vof the shoe. Fig. L1, is a cross seotion on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3. F ig. 5, is an end view of the shoe taken from the lower end. Fig. 6, is an end view of the shoe with the bits locked in place. Fig. 7, is a cross section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 1. Fig. 8, is a perspective viewof the bit holder and its carried parts, per se. Fig. 9, is a detail perspective view of a part of the wedge member. Y 1

Referring now to the accompanying draw.

ings, in which like letters and numerals of reference indicate like parts in` all of the figures, 1 designates the :otatable pipe, such as is now in common use in machines and to the lower end of which the shoe 2, which forms a part of my invention, is attached by the threaded collar 6.

The shoe 2, which is of a peculiar construction, has a shank `whose external diameter is substantially the same as that 0f the pipe 1 and it carries ahead 3 of a greater diameter, nearly equal to that ot the well to be bored. The head 3 has a transversely elongated longitudinal bore or passage 'l which merges with seats 5 havingr bevel surfaces 24 for the bits or cutters hereinafter again referred to. The upper end of the shoe 2 has a central circular bore 'T of the same diameter as the internal diameter of the pipe 1, the bore 7 merging with spiral surfaces 8 that terminate at the entrance. of the head bore l to direct the bits into the bore elA as will be hereinafter more clearly apparent.

9 is a rope having a swivel pin screwed onto the shank 11 of the rod 12 Which'carries the locking mechanism and supports the bit holder. The rod 12 at its lower end lioins with a channeled member 13, which in turn terminates in forks 15 'oil-set to lie in dif ferent but parallel planes, the forks 15 terminating at their lower ends in locking keys 16 having water passing bores 17 for a: purpose hereinafter apparent.

18 is the bit carrier which is vin the form of a link, the upper transverse portion 19 of which moves in the slot 14 of the member 13 and the lower transverse portion 20 of which serves as a pivot on which the Shanks 22 that carry the cutter heads 21 are swung. The cutter heads or bits 21 have side edges 23 that arc engaged by the keys 1G when the cutters are in their operative position to hold the cutters with their bevel outerside edges 211 inthe sockets or recesses 5 of the shoe well drilling head 3, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The cutter heads 21 have their lower ends formed into cutting edges 25 and they overlap one another as at 26 so that the .two cutterhead sections 21 may be considered as a single cutter. Each' cutter head21 has a recessed portion 27 to receive the keys 16 when the cutter heads 21 are being withdrawn.

In practice the parts are normally positioned as shown in Fig. 1 of'thedrawings, by reference to which it will be observed that the keys 16 lock the cutter heads 21 in the pockets orv sockets 5 of the shoe head 3 so as to -hold theosame radially in position to be turned when the shoe is turned by the rotary motion of the pipe 1. Water, compressed air, or other suitable fluid may be forced through vthe pipe 1, shoe 2 and passages 17 the outside of the shoe 2 and pipe 1 and iS and fed to the cutters to carry out the abraded material, which passes upwardly around discharged from the well. inthe usual man'-V ner. When it becomes necessary or desirable to remove the cutters itis only necessary to'l,`

pull on the rope 9 when the keys 16 .will be withdrawn from engagement with thev cutter heads 21 and be brought into alinement with. ,f the cutaway or recessed portions 27 of such cutters. By this time the bridge 19 of the link or carrier 18 will rest at the bottom of the slot 14 and be lifted as the rope 9 is pulled up farther. f The further upward pull onthe rope 9 causes the cutter heads 21 to move into the shoe head 3 and fold up against one another, asv clearly shown in Fig, 2 of the drawings to permit ofthe withdrawal of the same. v

In inserting the cutters into the shoe 2, it is only necessary to lower them through the pipe 1 when they will be guided by the surfaces 8 into proper position to enter the bore 4 of the shoe head 3 and project below the bottom of the shoe. A further lowering of the rope 9 will permit the keys 16 to assume their locking position, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. I f desired, the downward movement of the keys 16 may be arrested by theprovision of beveled shoulders 8X so that v the keys 16' will not project beyond the lower edge of the shoe, although I ldo not consider this asan essential feature.

From the foregoing descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it is thought the complete construction, operation and advantagesy of my invention will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains.

What I claim is l l. In a well drilling apparatus, a rotary pipe, 'a shoe secured to the lower end and said shoe having cutter head receiving pockets merging with said central passage, a rope adapted to be lowered ,through said pipe, a rod suspended from said rope, a

drill carrier supported by said rod, drilling cutters carried by said carrier and including cutter heads that are adapted to enter said shoe pockets when lowered in said shoe, and means carried by said rodlfor engaging the headsof said cutters and forcing said cutter heads in said pockets and sustaining them therein, t

3. In an apparatus of the class described,

a shoe for attachment to the rotatable pipe of a drilling apparatus, said shoe having a head provided with a transversely elongated longitudinal passage, and also yhaving-cutter Y receivin slots merin with saidl assa e means carried by said shoel for directing cutters into lsaid head passage, a forke body adapted to enter said shoe and having key portions at itslower end, said forked body having a slotted portion, acutter carrier mounted on' said forked bodyand having movement in-said slotted portion, a pair of cutters carried by said cutter carrier, said cutters being insertible into said shoe to project through the lower end of the same and adapted to enter said pockets of `said shoe head and project out of said shoe head, said cutters having portions to be engaged by said keys to retain said cutters in said shoe head pockets. t t j 4. In a well drilling apparatus, a rotatable pipe, a shoe having a shank securedv to said pipe at its lower end and forming an extension of the same, said shoelshak having an entrance of a bore equal to that of the interior of said pipe, said shoe including a head having a longitudinal passage transversely elongated, said shoe shank including means for directing cutters into said head passage from said entrance, said shoe head having a cutterpocket merging with said shoe head passage, a cutter having a cutter head adapted to passy through said pipe into said shoe and having its head directed into said shoe head passage, means for sustaining said cutter and lowering it into said shoe to pass,through said shoe and project out of said head passage at its lower end, means directly engaging the cutter head for forcing said cutter into said shoe pocket when projected to project laterally a greater distance from the central longitudinal axis of said shoe than the external diameter of said shoe. f

5. In a Well drilling apparatus, a rotatable pipe, a shoe having a shank secured to said pipe at its lower end and forming an extension of the same, said shoe shank having an entrance of a bore equal to that of the interior of said pipe, said shoe including a head having a longitudinal passage transversely elon ated, said shoe shank' including means or directing cutters into said headpassage from said entrance, said shoe head 'having a cutter pocket merging' with said shoe head passage, a cutter having a cutter head that is adapted to pass through said pipe into said shoe and be directed into said shoe head passage, means for sustaining said cutter and lowering it into said shoe to pass through said shoe and project out oli' said head passage at its lower end, and means directl engaging said cutter head for forcing saidcutter into said shoe pocket v hiturcated rod when said cutters are in position, in virtue of which said hiurcated rod ends will force said cutters with their heads into said pockets and retain the same therein.

(lLAYTi'lN E. FREDE R lC'KSOTJ; lVi tu esses lloml'ns ll. i'iiaxslmw, ll. R.. Ciiozma. 

